Ashes to Ashes (Barbie the Vampire Hunter Book 3)

by Lucinda Dark

  She jerked her hand from my grip and glared at me, her eyes flashing crimson before fading back to her human blue. “This is taking too long,” she snapped.

  “It’s taking as long as it needs to,” Torin argued.

  Barbie threw her fists up and turned around. “Get the fucking room, I’ll wait out here.”

  “Not alone, you fucking won’t,” I replied.

  “I got it,” Torin said with a sigh. “Just stay here.” I nodded my acknowledgment. He disappeared into the lobby of the motel, returning minutes later with two key cards and a scowl. The three of us got back into the car and drove around the lot to the opposite side of the building. “Room 22B,” he said as we got out a second time. We headed up to the second floor and bustled into the room—Torin and I exchanged looks as Barbie’s movements grew in relation to the depth of her anger.

  She slammed into the motel room, took one look at the beds and shook her head. “I’m taking a shower,” she announced.

  “Fine,” I agreed. Maybe it’d give her a fucking moment to chill the fuck out. The bathroom door closed behind her with a resounding click and Torin and I took a moment to just fucking breathe. “Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered, slumping into one of the chairs near the window. I reached back, grabbing a handful of the curtain and snapped the damn thing shut. “She’s right,” I finally said. “We can’t keep going on like this, we’re not getting anywhere.”

  “I gotta go back,” Torin said.

  “What?” I sat up straighter.

  He nodded. “I wasn’t done, I have to—”

  “No, stay here,” I said. “With her. I’ll go.”

  He eyed me. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Besides, I think she probably needs to feed.”

  “We can both feed her now, you know that,” Torin pointed out.

  I winced. “Fuck,” I hissed, standing abruptly. “I just need to get out of here. I need a break. We’re all on each other’s nerves. I just need some fresh air. I need some alone time. We haven’t been apart for more than a few hours in the last two weeks. I’ll drive back, question the warlock and be back before you know it.”

  Torin looked me over. I didn’t know what the fuck he was searching for, but he remained quiet as he watched me. I felt fire race in my blood—a reminder. The need to shift was growing stronger and we’d been tracking supes in urban areas—there was nowhere for me to go to release the beast. “I need to fly,” I admitted. “The beast is getting antsy.”

  That, more than anything, finally managed to get me a nod. “Fine,” he said quietly. “Go. Finish questioning the warlock, let him know that you know me. Then find a place to shift.” He paused and shot me a meaningful look, locking eyes with me until I was forced to meet his gaze head on. “Somewhere remote,” he clarified. “Do not shift in the city.”

  I scoffed. “I’m not a fucking idiot.” I knew that much at least.

  Torin ignored my statement, pulling his phone from his pocket and clicking across it. “I saw an open field twenty minutes outside the city’s perimeter,” he said as my phone beeped. I withdrew it and saw that he’d sent me GPS directions. I nodded. “It’s nearly ten now,” he continued. “Is five hours good enough?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “I’ll be back by three.”

  He picked up one of the key cards from where he’d chucked them onto the bed and tossed it to me. I caught it in one hand before snatching the keys to the SUV from the tabletop. As I opened the motel door, I heard the shower shut off. I looked up and met Torin’s gaze. “Tell her I went out to get food,” I said. “We don’t need her following me.”

  He nodded. “I’ll keep her here,” he promised.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Make the dragon happy,” he replied. “Then come back.”

  “Always.”

  Forty-Three

  Barbie

  I sucked in a breath and held it as water sluiced over my head and down my spine. I didn’t know what it was about showers or standing under an onslaught of water, but it always seemed to calm me at least somewhat. I could practically feel my fury leaving my body and swirling down the drain with the dirt and grime of three full days on the road, hopping from city to city. Though it pissed me off to even admit silently, Maverick was right. I’d let my anger get the better of me.

  Exhaustion. Hunger. Impatience. They were all valid reasons for why I was feeling so anxious, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on him and Torin. Even as I thought of them, I could hear their voices just on the other side of the thin wall separating the bathroom and motel room. I tuned out their words—listening only to the rhythm and cadence of their voices soothed me.

  I shut off the water and wrung out my hair. Shoving the shower curtain aside, I reached for the towel. The sound of a door closing in the other room made me stop. I listened intently, but all I could hear then was one heartbeat. There was no more talking. I quickly dried my hair as much as I could before wrapping the towel around my front and stepping into the main room.

  Torin was the only one there. “Where’d Mav go?” I asked.

  “Out,” Torin said, “to grab food and supplies.” I nodded, but inside I couldn’t help but feel at a loss. He’d left before I had a chance to apologize.

  “You should feed while he’s gone,” Torin said.

  I winced, but my vampire perked up. A coil of hunger took root in my belly and spread outward until I felt the responding tingle in my upper gums where my fangs resided. With a sigh, I moved towards him. “Can we make it quick?”

  Torin tilted his head to the side as I stopped in front of him. “Have somewhere else you need to be?” he replied.

  I glared up at him through my lashes. “No,” I said. “I just … don’t want to be distracted if we need to go.”

  “We’re in for the night,” he assured me. “We’ve been on the road long enough. I don’t know about you, but I can’t take another night sleeping in the backseat.”

  Torin reached back and even before he dragged his shirt over his head, revealing the expanse of his rock hard chest, I felt myself responding. The place between my legs dampened and clenched with need. My gaze slid over the ridges of his abdomen to the Adonis belt that tucked into the top of his jeans. I swallowed roughly as my mouth watered. All of that skin—so smooth and tempting. A veritable feast—quite literally.

  “Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand.

  I nodded, stepping forward and taking his hand. He pulled me closer, tilting his head to the side. My lips parted and my fangs came down from my gums. I moved into his embrace, lifting up onto my toes as I found his vein and bit down. I groaned as fresh blood flooded my mouth. My towel loosened, but I couldn’t be bothered to fix it. I wrapped my arms around Torin’s neck, nuzzling into his skin as I let more of his blood flow over my tongue. Unlike when I drank from a human—his blood had flavor. It tasted incomparable.

  I felt it in the exact moment when he scented my arousal. His cock grew hard against me, prodding me gently as he crushed me closer. Neither of us could resist the pull. I’d fought against it so hard, but now I knew it for what it was—the mating. I no longer resisted him. In fact, I came to him. And that had opened the path for a stronger connection.

  I fed from him, dragging in long gulps before finally pulling away. I licked my lips clean of his blood as my fangs receded into my gums, but I didn’t drop my arms. Neither did he. “How long did you say Mav was going to be?” I asked quietly.

  “Probably a few hours,” he whispered.

  “Do you think he’d mind…?”

  He shook his head. “We’ll be quick.”

  “I’m sorry,” I blurted as he angled me towards one of the beds. “I was an asshole earlier.”

  “Yeah, you were,” he said, ripping the towel free as he pushed me back onto the squeaky mattress. “But I think I’ve gotten used to your bratty ways.”

  “Hey!” He popped my thigh as he crawled over me, his chest bru
shing against my breasts and making sparks of pleasure shoot through my skin.

  He kissed me, stealing any further words that I might have managed to dredge up and sealing them with his lips. I closed my eyes and let myself just feel him. I kissed him back, sinking my nails into his longer hair and tugging gently as I directed his head the way I liked it. I sucked his tongue into my mouth as I arched up into his grip. He moved his hands down, and his knuckles bumped against my stomach as he unbuckled his belt and slid his jeans down, kicking them as well as his underwear from the bed.

  “Fuck me, Torin,” I whispered harshly, yanking my mouth away from his. “I want to feel you. Make me forget everything. Make me forget what we’re going to do. Make me forget the fact that we could fucking die tomorrow.”

  Torin didn’t need to be told twice. In a flash, he had my legs spread wide and was powering into my pussy with one single, hard thrust. I groaned, craning my neck back as his cock stretched me. “We’re not going to die,” he said, his breath fast and hot in my ear as he leaned down.

  I shook my head, dizzy on the sensations. “We could,” I replied. “You can’t deny that it’s possible. We couldn’t kill him last time.”

  “You’re not nearly as fragile now as you used to be,” he said, pulling out and thrusting back in. His thumb found my clit and rubbed in a slow circle. I hissed and squirmed in his grip. “Neither is Mav.”

  “Oh fuck!” I reached down and grabbed onto his wrist. “I don’t want to come just yet.” I whimpered as he gently, but firmly pulled my hands away and returned his thumb to where it had been. He pressed against my clit, rotating.

  “I want you to,” he whispered into my skin. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. It won’t be the last time. Come now and I’ll make sure you come again.”

  Even if my mind disagreed, my body apparently liked that plan. Torin lit me up like fireworks on the fourth of July. Small sparks popped beneath my flesh as he fucked me—thrusting in and out in quick, short strokes. All the while, his fingers played at my nub, teasing it, pushing it, circling it. I released a short cry, unable to stop the noise from escaping my throat as I arched my spine. My breasts were shoved outward and I loved the feel of him dipping his head and rubbing the stubble of his three day beard growth against my sensitive flesh.

  I panted when I came down from the small orgasm he’d given me. Sweat coated my skin. It wasn’t enough. I needed more. Locking my hands behind his head, I shoved my hips up and to the side, steadily flipping him onto his back. Torin’s fingers left my clit as he landed with a grunt. I reared up and looked down on him.

  “My turn,” I whispered.

  “By all means…” He smirked. “Be my guest.”

  I rode him hard. Up and down. I stroked him inside me, loving the feel of his thickness moving in and out. I squeezed, contracting my internal muscles. It felt so good to pull him out, but I hated to truly leave him. I only barely managed to lift up until just the tip rested inside my stretched entrance before I was descending back on his cock. His groans echoed up, vibrating against me and turning me on even more.

  It wasn’t much longer until I was back on that precipice. We both were. “Tor…” I panted, heat stealing my breath. I was there—just on the edge. Damn near ready to tip over. His fingers clutched my waist, digging in tightly. If I didn’t have vampiric healing, I knew he would’ve left bruises.

  “Barbie.” My name whispered in the electric air of the motel room sent me spiraling over that cliffside into a second, much more powerful orgasm. This time, he joined me. The sound of his groans echoing in my head even as I reached that orgasm and then slowly came back down. I sighed, slumping over onto his bare chest.

  I didn’t know how long we laid like that. I drifted in and out of consciousness. Neither of us appeared too concerned about getting up and getting dressed. When I finally roused myself, my hair was only half wet and the sweat had dried on my skin. I peeked at the old digital clock on the nightstand and sat up, glancing around.

  “When did you say Maverick was supposed to be back?” I asked, shaking Torin awake.

  Torin blinked bleary eyes up at me. I hated to wake him when I’d never seen him this tired. Perhaps I’d taken too much blood, but I didn’t really have a choice. If the clock on the nightstand was right then it was already past three in the morning. “Torin?” I shook him again.

  He sat up with a yawn and I rolled off his chest, reaching for the sheet and pulling it up my front as I looked around the room. Mav’s bag was where he’d dropped it earlier, so even if I’d fallen hardcore asleep, it didn’t look like he’d been back.

  “He should’ve been back by now,” Torin said. He got up and started hunting through the sheets and pillows we’d kicked off the bed in our haste to pull on his jeans. I, too, got up and went to my duffle bag, searching through for a new pair of pants, a bra, and a t-shirt. Once I was dressed, I turned back around to find Torin—equally clothed—with his phone to his ear. I could hear the ringing from where I stood, so I waited. It went to voicemail.

  A sick feeling took root inside my chest. I found my phone in my old clothes and placed a call to Mav’s cell as well. This time, someone picked up. “Mav?” Torin jerked his head up and was at my side in a split second. He took the phone from me and set it on the table as he clicked the ‘speaker’ button.

  “Maverick?” he said. “You there?”

  There was rustling and then a faintly familiar voice saying, “Sir?” Where had I heard that voice before? My breath caught in my lungs, stuttering to a stop in my throat when I placed the voice. The warlock from the abandoned motel on the other side of town. It was him.

  “Maverick?” Torin repeated more firmly. “Answer me.”

  “I do believe he’s incapable of answering anyone at the moment, son.” My blood ran cold in my veins. My head lifted and Torin met my gaze. It was him. It was Arrius. “You could say he’s otherwise indisposed—what an interesting boy he is, though. He’s that very same friend I told you to get rid of a few years back, right?”

  “Arrius,” Torin spat. “Where is he?”

  “Well, I have it on good authority that you’ve been asking around for me,” Arrius replied coolly. “I’ve been keeping tabs of course. Watching your little finding expedition for a while now. How’s that going by the way? Have you found what you’re looking for yet?”

  “We were looking for you,” Torin growled. “Where the fuck is Maverick?”

  Arrius tsked. “Is that any way to speak to your father? I think not. It appears that not only do you lack manners, you’re also incapable of following orders. Don’t think I didn’t hear the girl in the background. No wonder Eloise hasn’t been answering my phone calls. She’s never ignored me before. Katalin told me she’d decided to take a vacation—your sister isn’t one to lie usually, but not to worry, she’ll be taken care of soon enough. Now, why don’t we stop all of this hunting and searching nonsense, eh?”

  I couldn’t speak. Something foreign had formed in my chest. It squeezed ghostly limbs around my throat, suffocating me, rendering me incapable of speech for the moment. I took a breath and another and another until I pushed through the fear and anger. I snatched the phone up and held it to my ear even as Torin tried to tear it from my grip.

  “Arrius Priest.” Saying his name to the monster himself felt like saying the name of everything I’d ever hated.

  “Ahh, is this the girl? The hunter? Congratulations, dear, on extending your life. Quite unexpected. The last time I saw you I was certain you were all but dead.”

  “You’re right,” I agreed. “But that’s the thing about ‘all but’—you can’t make sure someone’s dead unless you kill them yourself.”

  “Right you are,” he said with a polite chuckle. “Can I take that to mean that you intend to kill me yourself?”

  “I do.”

  “Then I’m sure you’ll want to find me, and your friend here.”

  “Is Maverick alive?” I demanded.

  He la
ughed. “For now, little hunter. For now.”

  We were through playing these games. If he was calling us now—if he had Maverick—then that meant he was done as well. Everything we’d been waiting for was coming to a head. There was only one thing left to ask. “Where?” My voice rasped out of my throat, vibrating with emotion so convoluted that I couldn’t come up with a word that would explain the feeling.

  “I’ll send the information. Be there in less than three hours. As Torin has been using my money to get around, I’m sure he can get you a new vehicle. The one you were using … well, I’m afraid to say it’ll no longer be drivable.”

  With that, he hung up. The solid click echoed in my ears. A moment later, the phone’s screen shattered in my fist.

  Forty-Four

  Barbie

  Some religions believed that hate was the wrath of the weak. But not me. For me, hate was a driving force. Hatred of the things that stole the people I cared about. Hatred of the creatures of the night who cared not for their long forgotten humanity. I could feel it build up beneath my skin as Torin drove down the highway, following the GPS coordinates that his father had sent not long after he hung up on us. Neither of us had said a word since, but I could feel the guilt permeating the new vehicle. While we’d been fucking in the motel room, Maverick had been caught by Arrius Priest and was likely experiencing some sort of fucked up torture that I really didn’t want to think about. The only shining light I had to look forward to, though, was the fact that soon this would all be over.

  I closed my eyes and dropped down into my deepest sense of self. Everything faded into the background. The sound of gears grinding drifted into nothing as Torin pushed the older model sedan—the only thing we’d found in the parking lot of the motel that had been not only hot-wireable but even remotely drivable. We couldn’t risk breaking down on the side of the road. Not right now.